About This Episode

Like the beginning of any major movement, the sky is the limit when it comes to innovation. New cannabis standards are evolving rapidly. Every day brings a new level of understanding about the plant and its incredible healing properties. New discoveries about the endocannabinoid system are leading to scientific breakthroughs that have potential to transform the field of medicine.

But for some, the rate of progress is cause for concern. As with any evolving industry, there is bound to be some confusion, and resistance like federal laws and pushback from the pharma-medical establishment, and even industry insiders. It’s like the wild west, where innovators have, thus far, been free to govern themselves under state laws. However, when nationwide legalization becomes reality, states will need to adopt unified cannabis standards that transcend international borders.

Sadly, the absence of cannabis standards has a darker side. After recording this show, we learned that untested medical marijuana took the life of a cancer patient due to the heavy presence of mold. This drives home the important of industry-supported, voluntary consensus cannabis standards for testing and quality.

“The last thing we want to see is [a patient] becoming sick because of cannabis,” is a very good point our guest, Lezli Engelking made. She continued, “Whether they have a compromised immune system or they’re healthy and become ill from using untested cannabis.” Problems such as toxic mold or plastic heating up in vape pens are issues she hopes unified cannabis standards will help to change, and that’s the topic of today’s episode.

First, Dr. Bryan Doner explains how important standards are in the field of medicine in this week’s Medical Marijuana Minute. We also have a message from our sponsors HempMeds.com and Zephyr Labs — We are very grateful for their support.

About Our Guest

Lezli Engleking is the founder and president of FOCUS, the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards. Their mission is to protect public health and consumer safety – and safeguard the environment – by promoting integrity within the cannabis industry.

Lezli was one of twelve people hand-selected to help guide the development of internationally harmonized cannabis standards in partnership with ASTM, an entity founded in 1898 as the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials. The organization, ASTM, is hosting a conference on unified cannabis standards in Pennsylvania on February 28, 2017. The event will provide opportunity for industry professionals to build consensus.